Publications

26 Jan 2004
Research & Ideas

What Developing-World Companies Teach Us About Innovation

When most people think of innovation, they envision developed-world companies such as the U.S.A.'s IBM, Japan's Sony, South Korea's Samsung, Finland's Nokia, or Switzerland's Novartis, technology leaders that have stayed at the cutting edge of dynamic View Details

Keywords: by Donald N. Sull, Alejandro Ruelas-Gossi & Martin Escobari

20 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 20

members questioned the logic of additional investment in the region whose resources were so uncertain and wondered whether it was more prudent to pursue growth elsewhere. At the same time, some of Woolf's owners began to believe that more... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Seeds of Innovation: GALY's Quest to Cultivate the Future of Agriculture in the Lab

By: George Serafeim and Michael Norris

In 2023, Luciano Bueno, CEO and founder of plant cell culture agriculture company GALY, was considering the best path forward for his company as he planned to pitch Series B investors. GALY, founded in 2019, aimed to produce cotton and other crops from cells grown in... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Green Technology; Goods and Commodities; Growth and Development Strategy; Science-Based Business; Entrepreneurship; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Startups; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Production; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry; Boston; Sao Paulo

June 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Driving Scale with Otto

By: Rebecca Karp, David Allen and Annelena Lobb

This case asks how startup founders make scaling decisions in light of their priorities for their business and for themselves. Otto was a technology company that applied artificial intelligence technology to sales. It deployed natural language processing to find sales... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Natural Language Processing; B2B; B2B Innovation; Scaling; Scaling Tech Ventures; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Finance; Sales; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; United States; Cambridge; New York (city, NY); Spain

July 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Beohemija's Duel

By: Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

Vladimir Joksic, Director of Marketing for Serbia's Beohemija, along with his marketing team has managed to grow Duel, the firm's soap powder offering from single digits to almost 40% of the Serbian market in just a few short years. He has used innovative and... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Growth and Development; Innovation Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing; Product Launch; Competition; Consumer Products Industry

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Strategy for Small Fish

software), these strategies have endured for many years and enabled the growth of large and successful firms (such as Intuit and Siebel Systems). A well-executed niche strategy, because of its focus, will exhibit strong defenses against a... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

01 Jun 2009
News

Inside the Partnership

Two Great Men of Goldman Sachs In his book The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs (Penguin Press, 2008), Charles D. Ellis (MBA ’63) explores the growth of Wall Street’s most celebrated firm, from its humble origins in 1869 as a... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

November 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Radial Analytics Probes Post-Acute Care

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

Thaddeus Fulford-Jones and Eric Weiss, founders of healthcare technology startup Radial Analytics, have been busy developing a software program designed to save hospitals money and improve patient outcomes by producing customized care plans for patients leaving the... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Medical Records; Electronic Health Records; Data Science; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Health Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts

06 Dec 2016
First Look

December 6, 2016

originating catalyst for the Industrial Revolution and modern capitalism casts new light on American credit markets, practices of offshore investment, and understandings of human capital. Rather than seeing slavery as outside the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh (Abridged)

By: James E. Austin

Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Developing Countries and Economies; Information Publishing; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Agreements and Arrangements; Product; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Bangladesh; Washington (state, US)

March 2011
Teaching Note

KiOR: Catalyzing Clean Energy (TN)

By: Ramana Nanda

Teaching Note for 809092. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Renewable Energy; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership Style; Geographic Location; Energy Industry

January 2019 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Analytical Space: The Next Frontier?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and David Lane

With one satellite aloft and in the midst of beta testing in late 2018, Analytical Space founders Justin Oliveira and Dan Nevius turned to critical questions about the pioneering startup’s go-to-market, pricing, and business development strategy. Analytical Space aimed... View Details

Keywords: Pricing Decisions; Demand Validation; Revenue Model; Business Development; Space Tech; Satellites; Earth Observation; Remote Sensing; Business Startups; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Finance; Selection and Staffing; Business Strategy; Aerospace Industry

November 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

EbonyLife Media (A)

By: Andy Wu, Feng Zhu, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Wale Lawal

Founded by Mosunmola “Mo” Abudu in 2012 with a mission to bring high-quality African stories to the world, EbonyLife was the company behind many of Nigeria’s biggest films and TV shows. The company began as a television channel on the Africa-wide direct broadcast... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Mission and Purpose; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Consumer Behavior; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Nigeria; Africa

03 Jun 2016
News

Again in a Great City

opinionated time line of Detroit’s highs and lows. And there have been a lot of lows. Just a few years ago, Cummings was done with Detroit. The municipal government was in disarray, the auto industry was collapsing, the population was... View Details

Keywords: April White; photographed by Brian Kelly

01 Jan 2004
News

Minoru Makihara, 75th AMP, 1977

question. Japan's reliance on industrial policy had already triggered a backlash in the United States with cries of unfair trade practices. With its emphasis on size and dominant market share, Mitsubishi Corporation may have topped the... View Details

July 1987 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Phillips 66: Controlling a Company Through Crisis

By: Lynda M. Applegate

The downstream operations subsidiary of a major U.S. petroleum company is faced with major restructuring decisions and responds by developing an Executive Information System (EIS) which allows for increased responsiveness, wider span of control, and higher levels of... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Information Management; Governance Controls; Organizational Design; Crisis Management; Communication; Management Teams; Growth Management; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; United States